Nicholson, Pacino, De Niro are lazy: Coppola

NEW YORK: Everyone wants to work with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson — except Francis Ford Coppola.

Coppola — who directed Pacino and De Niro in “The Godfather” trilogy — says the trio of Oscar-winning actors have become apathetic.

“I don’t feel that kind of passion to do a role and be great coming from those guys, because if it was there, they would do it! I mean, they’re all in a position to do it,” the 68-year-old filmmaker told GQ magazine.

“Pacino always wanted to do theatre. He wanted to do Peer Gynt, Shakespeare. Pacino will say, ‘Oh, I was raised next to a furnace in New York, and I’m never going to LA,’ but they all live off the fat of the land,” he says.

He calls De Niro “wealthy and powerful” — and more ambitious than Nicholson. “I think if there was a role that De Niro was hungry for, he would come after it. I don’t think Jack would,” he says.

“Jack has money and influence and girls, and I think he’s a little bit like (Marlon) Brando, except Brando went through some tough times.”

Nicholson “was always kind of a joker” and a Hollywood schmooze, says Coppola.

“He’s got a little bit of a mean streak,” he says. “He’s intelligent, always wired in with the big guys and the big bosses of the studios. I don’t know what any of them want anymore.”